Wolfenstein: The New Order

Going Off The Rails With Wolfenstein: The New Order

The next Wolfenstein game takes place in an alternate history 1960, where the Nazis won WWII. Last time we checked in with the Nazi-killing machine, B.J Blazkowicz, he stormed a German R&D facility. Developer Machine Games showed off a later gameplay section during an E3 presentation set about three quarters into the game. Blazkowicz navigates the wreckage of a destroyed monorail while picking off enemy soldiers in the debris.

Machine Games explains that B.J. uses mysterious technology – the same the Nazis are using – to blow up the train. The wreck occurs over the Strait of Gibralter. Presumably the Nazis have built a bridge connecting the southern tip of Spain to Africa, where the last bastion of Axis resistance resides. With the train destroyed, Blazkowicz begins hunting for identification papers.

B.J. hops through destroyed train cars towards a lower section of the monorail. He drops through train sections that hang vertically, using shifted crates as a pathway down. Metal grates block the path, requiring B.J. to use his laser cannon to cut holes in them. Our hero crawls and leaps through the twisted remains of the locomotive, eventually landing on the crumbling concrete of the bridge’s lower section.

Surviving Nazis emerge from the rubble guns blazing. Heavily armored super soldiers join the regular rank and file, blasting at B.J. with huge gatling guns. On his way through the level, B.J. uses the huge machine gun to mow down enemies, blasts down flying drones with dual wielded shotguns, and banks grenades off walls with a launcher. The shooting gameplay looks slick and pretty, with the sun shining over the vast expanse of the sea in the background. The demo ends with a big Nazi bruiser sucker punching B.J. in the face.

Machine Games’ next chapter in the Wolfenstein series continues to impress. The what-if WWII scenario and light first-person platforming help Wolfenstein: The New Order stand apart from other shooters. We’re looking forward to gunning down more Third Reich jerks when it releases on current- and next-gen consoles near the end of the year.